Student Organizations

Psi Chi, the National Honor Society in Psychology

Psi Chi is the National Honor Society in Psychology, founded in 1929 for the purposes of encouraging, stimulating, and maintaining excellence in scholarship, and advancing the science of psychology. The mission of Psi Chi is to produce a well-educated, ethical, and socially responsible member committed to contributing to the science and profession of psychology and to society in general. Membership is open to graduate and undergraduate men and women who are making the study of psychology one of their major interests, and who meet the minimum qualifications. Psi Chi is a member of the Association of College Honor Societies and is an affiliate of the American Psychological Association (APA) and the Association for Psychological Science (APS). Psi Chi’s sister honor society is Psi Beta, the national honor society in psychology for community and junior colleges.

Psi Chi functions as a federation of chapters located at over 1,000 senior colleges and universities in the USA and Canada. The National Office is located in Chattanooga, Tennessee. A National Council, composed of psychologists who are Psi Chi members and are elected by the chapters, guides the affairs of the organization and sets policy with the approval of the chapters.

Psi Chi serves two major goals–one immediate and visibly rewarding to the individual member, the other slower and more difficult to accomplish, but offering greater rewards in the long run. The first of these is the Society’s obligation to provide academic recognition to its inductees by the mere fact of membership. The second goal is the obligation of each of the Society’s local chapters to nurture the spark of that accomplishment by offering a climate congenial to members’ creative development. For example, the chapters make active attempts to nourish and stimulate professional growth through programs designed to augment and enhance the regular curriculum and to provide practical experience and fellowship through affiliation with the chapter. In addition, the national organization provides programs to help achieve these goals, including national and regional conventions held annually in conjunction with the psychological associations, research award competitions, and certificate recognition programs.

To join Psi Chi, you must be in the top 35% of your class and have completed at least 12 credits in psychology. For more information on how to join the University of Oregon’s Psi Chi chapter, please email us and like us on Facebook @UofOpsichi to hear about events, ask questions, or to connect with other Psi Chi members and those interested.

Interested in joining a student organization outside of the Department of Psychology? Browse the University of Oregon’s community of student organizations atuoregon.orgsync.com.

Mailing Address

Department of Psychology
1227 University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403
Phone: 541-346-4921